Service tray

ABSTRACT

A SERVICE TRAY HAVING A BOTTOM WHICH IS BOUNDED BY A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL, PERIPHERAL WALL. AT ONE END OF THE TRAY THE WALL IS PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF TRANSVERSELY SPACED, OVAL OPENINGS FOR RESPECTIVELY RECEIVING THE THUMB AND INDEX FINGER OF A USER&#39;&#39;S HAND SO AS TO EMBRACE A BEVERAGE CONTAINER RESTING ON THE BOTTOM ADJACENT THE OPENINGS. THE REMAINDER OF THE TRAY BOTTOM IS DESIGNED TO RECEIVE HORS D&#39;&#39;OEUVRES AND THE LIKE.

June 26, 1973 L, wH|TE ET AL Re. 27,688

SERVICE TRAY Original Filed Aug. 25, 1961 [a Mary Lee While Donald C.White 1 l INVENTORS United States Patent Oflice Re. 27,688 ReissueclJune 26, 1973 27,688 SERVICE TRAY Mary Lee White and Donald C. White,both of 304 The Royal St. Andrews, 555 S. Gulfstream Ave., Sarasota,Fla. 33577 Original No. 3,401,858, dated Sept. 17, 1968, Ser. No.663,382, Aug. 25, 1967. Application for reissue Sept. 15, 1970, Ser. No.72,556

Int. Cl. 365d 1/34 U.S. Cl. 22448 R 9 Claims Matter enclosed in heavybrackets II] appears in the original patent but forms no part of thisreissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additionsmade by reissue.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A service tray having a bottom which isbounded by a substantially vertical, peripheral wall. At one end of thetray the wall is provided with a pair of transverse ly spaced, ovalopenings for respectively receiving the thumb and index finger of ausers hand so as to embrace a beverage container resting on the bottomadjacent the openings. The remainder of the tray bottom is designed toreceive hors doeuvres and the like.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The serving of refreshments to guests atcocktail parties, receptions, and similar gatherings has long presentedsomething of a problem, especially where both food and drink are served.Ordinarily, the guest is required to hold a beverage container in onehand and a small plate with hors doeuvres or the like in the other hand,which is both awkward and inconvenient. If the beverage container istemporarily rested upon the plate, it is very likely to slide sideways,with a resultant spillage.

These awkward and objectionable situations have made it highly desirableto design an individual service tray combining the basic functions of asaucer and a service plate which can be supported by one hand so as toleave the other hand free.

SUMMARY The present invention overcomes these difficulties by providinga service tray which is bounded by a vertical wall or rim, one end ofwhich is provided with openings through which the thumb and index fingerof a user may be inserted for grasping a beverage container, whilesimultaneously supporting the bottom of the tray with the remainingfingers of the same hand. This leaves the balance of the tray forreceiving food items, an ash tray, or the like while the other hand isfree to pick up the drink, to handle the food, or the cigarette, or togreet another guest.

THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings in which numerals of likecharacter designate similar parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a beverage container in placeon the tray with the users hand and fingers shown in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The service tray of the present invention isgenerally indicated by the numeral 5 and comprises a bottom 6 which, inthe form illustrated, is of elongated, oval shape and bounded by 2.preferably integral, substantially vetrical wall or rim 7. The tray isformed of any suitable material having the required rigidity, such, forexample, as plain fiberboard, plastic impregnated fiberboard, moldedfoamed plastic, wood, or ceramic material. Thus, the invention isadaptable either for inexpensive, ane-time [one-ring] use, disposableservice trays, or for more durable trays intended for repeated use, suchas regular dinnerware.

Preferably, the bounding wall 7 is relatively shallow at one end 8, andits upper edge is gradually inclined and terminates at the opposite end9 in a substantially deeper gripping portion. This gripping portion 9 ofthe wall is provided with a pair of long, oval openings ltl and 11 whichare spaced apart laterally and symmetrical- 1y with respect to thecentral portion of the end portion 9 of wall 7. As best seen in FIG. 3,the lengths and positioning of the openings 10 and 11 are such as tofacilitate freedom of movement of the thumb and index finger wheninserted through respective openings to grip the periphery of a tumbleror other beverage container 12, positioned on the bottom adjacent theopenings, as seen in FIG. 1. Thus, the user is enabled to grasp thecontainer 12 with thumb and index finger, while the remaining fingersmay be pressed upwardly against the undersurface of the bottom 6 to lendhorizontal support to the tray.

It will be apparent that with this arrangement of finger hole openingsin the wall of the tray, the container 12 may be held firmly in place,either simply between the thumb and index finger of the user's hand, orby pulling the container rearwardly to actually engage the end portion 9of the wall, the height of the wall at this point providing a certainamount of leverage against the glass or beverage container that ishigher than the side wall portion 0 the tray, thus making the trayeasier to hold in horizontal position. \In the case of a long stemmedcontainer, the stem is simply gripped between the thumb and index fingerwith the extended base resting firmly on the bottom of the tray. Withthe tray supported in this manner, the bottom portion adjacent end 8 mayreceive various food items, such as hors doeuvres shown in dotted linesin FIGS. 1 and 2, or, in addition, it may receive an ashtray. The entiretray, including the beverage container, being held by one hand, theother hand is left free, as before indicated.

Especially with trays formed of light gauge material, it may bedesirable to increase the rigidity of the bottom 6 in addition to thatprovided by the wall 7 by forming in the bottom a raised rib or ridge 13which is preferably arcuate in shape and extends from one side wall tothe other adjacent the container receiving end 9 of the tray. Such aridge or rib not only increases rigidity, but also separates the area ofthe tray on which the beverage container rests from the food receivingarea. This effectively prevents spillage or condensation from thebeverage from running into the food. Likewise, food items are preventedfrom sliding, rolling or otherwise getting into the opposite end of thetray to interfere with the placement of the beverage container.

While we have shown the tray of oval shape and with the upper edge ofits wall inclined from one end to the other, the invention is by nomeans limited to this particular contour. However, it is preferred tohave at least the gripping end 9 of the tray of substantially arcuatecontour so that imaginary lines extending through the axes of theopenings 10 and 11 will converge and meet at a point within the areaconfined by the ridge 13, which facilitates the gripping of a beveragecontainer resting on the bottom of the tray. The wall 7 of the tray maybe made sloping so that several trays may be stacked by nesting intoeach other as for shipping and storing.

We claim:

1. A service tray having a bottom bounded at and adjacent at least oneend by a substantially vertical end wall, and a pair of transverselyspaced openings extending through said end wall for receiving theinserted thumb and one finger of the user, whereby, when a beveragecontainer is placed on said bottom adjacent said end wall it may begrasped by said inserted thumb and finger, with the remaining fingers ofthe user engaging and supporting the underside of said bottom.

2. A service tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein said openings are ofoval shape to facilitate freedom of movemerit of said thumb and finger.

3. A service tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein a continuation of saidend wall bounds the remainder of said bottom.

4. A service tray as claimed in claim 3, wherein the vertical wallbounding said bottom is of gradually decreasing height from said endwall to the opposite extremity of said bottom.

5. A service tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein said end wall is ofarcuate contour.

6. A service tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper surface ofsaid bottom, immediately adjacent the openings in said end wall, isprovided with a transversely extending, raised rib for preventingmoisture or condensate from said beverage container from reaching theother portion of said bottom.

7. A service tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottom is ofsubstantially oval shape and said end wall is of arcuate contour.

8. A service tray as claimed in claim 7, wherein said openings aresymmetrically spaced from the vertical center line of said end wall andtheir respective axes converge at an imaginary point within the confinesof said end wall.

9. A service tray having a b ttom portion and a side wall portionsurrounding at least a portion of the bottom, the side wall being soforn'ried with finger hole means that a finger and the thumb of one'shand may be simultaneously projected therethrongh below the level of thetop of the side wall from the exterior to a position over the bottomportion of the tray so as to grasp a container setting on the tray whilethe bottom portion of the tray is rested from below on the foldedremaining fingers of the same hand and the side wall confines acontainer which is taller than the side wall against removal from thetray while it is so held.

References Cited The following references, cited by the Examiner, are ofrecord in the patented file of this patent or the original patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 421,264 2/1890 Gibbons 2201 R 2,110.542 3/1938Allen 220-85 2,279,075 4/1942 Street et al 215l.2 2,295,860 9/1942Oliver 224-48 2,916,180 12/1959 Alger 22023.86 2,932,432 4/1960Baumgartner 220--85 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,158 1890 Great Britain 220-23.83

WILLIAM T. DlXSON, 112., Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X. R.

